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Amnesty International Indicts Buhari’s Govt, Says 1,813 Nigerians Killed Since January 2018

Amnesty International (AI) has blamed the wanton killings across the country on the failure by the Federal Government to “hold murderers to account.”

By so doing, “Nigerian authorities are encouraging impunity that is fuelling rising insecurity across the country”, the human rights watchdog said.

Amnesty International also said it independently verified estimated figures showing that since January 2018, at least 1,813 people have been murdered in 17 states of Nigeria. It said this doubles the 894 people killed in 2017 and that the death tolls reflect killings as a result of farmers-herders conflict, communal clashes, Boko Haram attacks and banditry.

The Federal Government is yet to issue a statement on the indictment.

“We are gravely concerned about the rising spate of killings across the country, especially the communal clashes between farmers and herders and attacks by bandits across at least 17 states.

“The authorities have a responsibility to protect life and property. But they are clearly not doing enough, going by what is happening. The latest incident in Plateau State, where armed gunmen attacked 11 villages on June 23 for at least seven hours and killed at least 200 villagers without intervention from security forces should be investigated,” said Osai Ojigho, Director, Amnesty International Nigeria.

That the violence in Plateau started after an attack, which was followed by reprisals from Thursday 21, shows unacceptable security lapses, the organisation said in a statement yesterday.

Despite the deployment of security forces, including the military in over 30 states, the escalation of these attacks shows that whatever is being done by the authorities is not working, the human rights watch body said.

Stressing the urgent need for people who are suspected of committing crimes to be held accountable, it said: “We hope that President Buhari’s commitment to bring those suspected to be criminally responsible for the killings in Plateau State to justice will break the impunity that has spread through the country.

“In addition, government must answer these questions: who are these attackers? Where do they come from? Where do they go after attacks? Who arms them and why is security forces’ response time very slow?”

The organisation disclosed it is currently investigating the rising insecurity that has resulted in the increase in killings across the country. It noted that its investigations show worrying details of how frequently the security forces failed to protect villagers. It said that in all cases it investigated, the attackers usually arrived in their hundreds, spent hours killing people and setting houses on fire and then disappeared without a trace.

The rights body also warned of the impact of the killings on farming, especially with villages and farmlands getting deserted because people fear going back to their homes.

It added: “We are at the peak of farming season and communities affected by this wave of violence are largely agrarian. But because of fear of attacks, they have either been displaced or are unable to cultivate their farms. Therefore, their major source of food and income is threatened.”

 

 

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